On a recent edition of WWE’s “After the Bell” podcast, Tommaso Ciampa discussed his recent visit to the WWE Performance Center and how the current vibe of NXT reminds him of the good old days of the black-and-gold brand.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the current vibe at the WWE Performance Center: “I actually stopped by the Performance Center (last week) and the vibe there, and the energy, it’s exactly what it used to be. It had a tough stint, it had a tough time with 2.0, the adjustments, the color scheme changes, the vibe was different for a while. It’s hungry again, it’s competitive again, it’s a team effort again. It was a really cool thing to see. I kept saying that to everybody down there. All the producers, coaches, Shawn [Shawn Michaels], Matt [Matt Bloom], everybody. That crowd was as electric as anything I’ve ever seen for a taping. It was the first time watching where I was like, ‘this is a Black and Gold feel.’ All these new talents and acts have now stepped past that point of being new and they are developed and they have a character and backstory and can connect. It was cool to see. It’s cool to see Carmelo Hayes be a full package and cool to see Trick Williams break out like crazy over the last few months. Ilja Dragunov is next level. He is full package, ready to go. Toss that guy up tomorrow and he’s ready to deliver. It was an awesome show, awesome environment.”
On NXT being competitive and hungry again: “This era, to me, is very similar to the first. We got to watch Sasha [Sasha Banks aka Mercedes Mone] and Bayley and so many others develop and then we got to be part of their greatness when they went from a little bit on the greener side, trying to figure out who they were, and then ‘Whoa, that Brooklyn match.’ Within our generation, when we came in, Cesaro [aka Claudio Castagnoli], Sami Zayn, KO [Kevin Owens], us [Ciampa and Johnny Gargano], ERA [Undisputed ERA], we kind of defined ourselves a bit more on the independent scene, so when we got to NXT, you weren’t seeing a finished product, but you were seeing guys and girls who knew who they were. This new era, we got to watch Bron Breakker and Carmelo [Carmelo Hayes] develop. I love that and think it’s fascinating to watch any talent go through the process. The process is so beautiful. Promo process, character process, in-ring work process, we’re watching that process and all of a sudden you see them on a big stage, packed crowd, full of energy. You know light bulbs are going off. They are hungry.”
Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT will be running head-to-head against AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday on the USA Network.
